This weekend brought some relief from the drought to much of North Georgia, but the situation is by no means over. Gwinnett County got two storms, including a thunderstorm that popped up over the county on Thursday night, and another pass at rain overnight Saturday. I recorded a total of .79 inches from the two storms, and a site in Snellville recorded almost one inch on Saturday night alone.

The rainfall didn’t get to everybody, though. It appears that the rain didn’t make it south of a line from Jonesboro to the Atlanta airport, both of which reported just under an inch of rain on Saturday, due to the unusual back-door approach of the front from the east. This week promises dry air, so there isn’t much of a chance of rain until next weekend.

The latest drought report shows just over 50% of Georgia in a severe drought, generally northwest of a line from Carrollton to Gainesville to Clayton, and southwest of a line from Savannah to Vidalia to Albany. Extreme drought affects 22% of the state, primarily in the area of the southeast Georgia wildfires. While the current report is worse than the previous week’s, it will be interesting to see if the rainfall this weekend brings any improvement to next week’s report.

The interesting Georgia weather this week looks like it could be along the coast. The high pressure system moving down the Atlantic coast and bringing Atlanta a pleasant workweek will interact with an upper-level low off the Atlantic, and at a minimum will bring gusty winds and the possibility of gale-like conditions —and some drought relief— to south Georgia and north Florida. On the other hand, high winds and minimal rain could just fan the fires. Things are still up in the air on this one, but it’s something to keep an eye on.